A couple days ago, Bill Slawski posted his usual Google has a new patent granted, this one he titled Google's Panda Granted a Patent on Ranking Search Results.
The patent was granted on the 25th and is named Ranking search results. The inventors are Vladimir Ofitserov and the famed Navneet Panda, the man they named Google's Panda algorithm for.
Now, there is confusion around if this patent is related to the Panda algorithm. Likelihood, it is not, but it is still a fun patent to read, with the disclaimer that patents don't mean it is in use.
Here is the abstract:
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for ranking search results. One of the methods includes determining, for each of a plurality of groups of resources, a respective count of independent incoming links to resources in the group; determining, for each of the plurality of groups of resources, a respective count of reference queries; determining, for each of the plurality of groups of resources, a respective group-specific modification factor, wherein the group-specific modification factor for each group is based on the count of independent links and the count of reference queries for the group; and associating, with each of the plurality of groups of resources, the respective group-specific modification factor for the group, wherein the respective group-specific modification for the group modifies initial scores generated for resources in the group in response to received search queries.
It makes for good weekend reading.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and Google+.
